Yandex acquires KitLocate

Russian search engine giant to open first R&D facility in Israel.

Russian search engine Yandex has acquired the Tel Aviv-based startup KitLocate, known for its low-power mobile geolocation technology, for a reported $20 million. KitLocate’s office and staff will now be converted into Yandex’s first Israeli R&D center.

“We will use it in our mobile search app which is now available for both iOS and Android, to provide more location-connected results when a user searches on mobile,” Yandex told TechCrunch.

The company was founded in 2011. KitLocate confirmed on its blog that its SDK will continue to be available for apps/services developers, post-acquisition.

“The beautiful thing about this acquisition is that our business should really start to explode now with Yandex offering our solution to the mass market,” writes Omri Moran, Founder and CEO, KitLocate, on the company’s blog.

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